The back of the Milwaukee Brewers' bullpen has been a revolving door recently.
The two biggest examples of this are veterans Bryse Wilson and Lyon Richardson . Wilson signed with the Brewers back in July after he was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs. Brewers fans will remember Wilson for his success back in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, he pitched in 53 games for Milwaukee and logged a 2.58 ERA in 76 2/3 innings pitched. In 2024, he had a 4.04 ERA in 34 total outings for the organization in the big leagues.
After reuniting with the club this summer, he made six appearances and logged a 2.63 ERA, but was designated for assignment on Aug. 8 to make room on the roster for Richardson. The righty made one appearance and pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings. On the Wilson front, he went unclaimed on waivers and elected free agency. But he re-signed with Milwaukee on a new deal, which led to Richardson being designated for assignment.
On Thursday, the bullpen saga took another turn. Jack Stern of Brewer Fanatic reported that Richardson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, but has elected free agency.
Jun 1, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Lyon Richardson (72) pitches against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"Lyon Richardson was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville and elected free agency," Stern wrote on X.
So, now Richardson is in a position that Wilson was just a few days ago. When it came to Wilson, he ultimately re-signed with the organization. He pitched for Milwaukee on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres and allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings pitched in the 4-3 extra-inning loss.
Richardson is the guy to watch now. Could he return to the organization as well? A similar thing happened earlier in the season with Jake Woodford . He was cut by the club, elected free agency, and re-signed with Milwaukee. Eventually, Woodford moved on. But we have already seen multiple pitchers elect free agency and re-sign, so nothing can really be ruled out.
Richardson made 13 appearances down in Triple-A in the Brewers' organization and logged a 4.20 ERA. He made one big league appearance with Milwaukee and didn't allow a run. On top of this, he has pitched in two games for the Cincinnati Reds this season and allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched. He also made 18 appearances down in Triple-A in the Reds' system and logged a 4.75 ERA in 30 1/3 innings pitched. It's been a roller coaster of a season for him, to say the least.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/brewers/onsi as Brewers Lose 26-Year-Old Pitcher in Latest Depth Blow .
